BIT2023 confirmed the success of its proven, multi-target format, offering a unique opportunity for professionals and travel enthusiasts to connect, share knowledge and develop new business relationships. In fact, exceeding expectations and the numbers seen in previous editions, it received more than 37,000 visitors and 1,032 exhibitors from 111 and 56 countries, respectively.

One interesting finding relates to the participation of new visitors. In fact, about one-third of visitors said they had never visited the fair in previous years, indicating a significant influx of new participants; a positive sign that highlights the attractiveness and importance of BIT as a reference platform in the tourism sector, but also confirms its role in generating new business - a result also enabled by the wide range of selected buyers and careful turnover.

Delving deeper into the trendiest sectors, an overall importance of themes such as "slow and local life" emerged, as well as digital development: sustainable tourism, food and wine, roots, have joined the world of the metaverse. 

Moreover, it is important to note that Italy remains the most popular destination among visitors to the expo, a further demonstration of the attraction that the "Italian" product continues to hold. In fact, analyzing the destinations visited by the public in the last three years, Italy comes out as the most popular destination, with 137 visitors who declared that they had visited it, followed by Europe, with 57 visitors, and Spain, with 37 visitors.

Another relevant aspect concerns visitors' choices of accommodation and types of vacation. Hotels and do-it-yourself travel together account for nearly 80 percent of the BIT audience's preferences; most participants (three out of four) indicate they usually take these two types of vacation. This figure shines a spotlight on how important it is for each region to offer varied lodging options and customizable travel solutions to meet demand, which is currently increasingly driven by budgets available.